Weddingbee Blog

Wedding Date: July 1, 2006
Venue: Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and The Semple Mansion
Bridal Gown Designer: Reem Acra
Florist: Flora Bella
Photographer: Studio 306
Cake: D’Amico
Wedding Coordinator: Ambiente, Joan Nilsen
Bridesmaid Dresses: Watters and Watters
Honeymoon: Peter Island, British Virgin Islands

Eric and I met at a wedding two years ago, and we held our rehearsal dinner at the same spot where we first laid eyes on each other. We were lucky enough to have that bride and groom in our wedding.

Our proposal was so romantic. Eric took me out on his boat for a “final spin” of the season. While I was not looking, he threw a bottle into the water, containing a scroll with burned edges and tied with light pink ribbon. While he was driving, he asked me to lean over the boat and grab what looked like a stick, to prevent another boat from being damaged. I hesitated, because I did not want to grab some random stick from the lake, but he insisted. When I picked it up, I assumed some child threw this “message in a bottle” into the lake. He asked me to open it, but I was still clueless, as I threw the tiny pink ribbons into the lake. Then, as I opened the scroll, it read “Mary….Will You Marry Me?” I screamed, and when I turned around, he was on one knee holding my diamond solitaire.

Our goal for our wedding day was to achieve timeless elegance. My ivory ball gown with intricate beading and embroidery set the tone a lovely and traditional affair for 100 guests. We had a Lutheran ceremony at a large, beautiful church with stained glass windows in St. Paul, Minnesota.

After the ceremony, Eric and I left the church, running through a shower of light pink and ivory petals into a navy blue 1949 Pacard. We enjoyed the ride.

The cocktail hour, dinner and dancing were held at the newly renovated Semple Mansion and Grand Palladian Ballroom in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Our guests had the run of the mansion. The cocktail hour featured a pianist playing my favorite Billy Joel tunes. The dinner and dance were held upstairs in the gorgeous ballroom with frescoed ceilings and Swarowski crystal chandeliers. The mansion’s dƒ�cor, including a grand staircase, added glamour to the evening. The DJ played plenty of Frank Sinatra, and the men dressed in classic black tuxes looked straight out of the 40’s.

When we made our grand entrance into the ballroom, we went straight to our first dance, It Had to Be You by Harry Connick Jr. I was happy that all our practice paid off, and the guests applauded each time Eric spun me around.

I enjoyed planning the little touches, including table cards marking cities we have visited over the past two years. We also had “perfect” and “pair” decorating our seats at the head table.

Our flowers were very romantic pink and ivory roses with peonies. I carried a nosegay bouquet of light ivory roses. Our head table featured a blanket of rose petals and frosted votives.

The toasts from the best man and maid of honor were some of the best highlights of the evening. I met my maid of honor when we were both on television in a small town in Illinois, so it was funny to hear her tell stories about our crazy life there.

My father has also been very ill this past year, so I was thrilled to have him at my wedding, looking great, and dancing with me to Tony Bennett’s The Way You Look Tonight.

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